My friends know that I will travel anywhere, anytime. When college chums Rachael and Charlie called from Baltimore to tell me their oldest son would be studying Spanish in Salamanca this summer and that they were planning a three week road trip in Spain.I asked if I could join them! They had done research on the web and worked with a Spanish tour guide who put together a rather obscure itinerary. Rachael had previously visited south east Spain and Charlie was particularly interested in Galician history and language so North West Spain became the primary destination. Luckily my work schedule allowed me to meet them during the days they'd be in Santiago d Compostela - a city I'd always dreamed of visiting!

My friends had already been in Spain for a week when I flew overnight into Madrid, trekked the length of Barajas Airport to the Metro. The Subway was easy to decipher and I quickly found my way to the city's bus station. There were hourly buses to Salamanca. The only mistake I made was that I didn't realize my bus ticket specified an assigned seat. Sleepy, I was flustered by the man who wanted my window seat. Losing the window didn't really matter since I kept nodding off during the three hour trip anyway. The Spanish speaking folks on the bus watched a dubbed version of Revenge of the Nerds.

Salamanca is a gorgeous town, big enough to qualify as a city but intimate enough to really get to know. The small winding streets are seemingly ancient but, because it is a university town, the students provide energy. I loved both the distant view of the cathedral (when I woke up on the bus) and the haunting interior. But most special was the old cathedral. It took me by surprise that the old cathedral was within the new. The admission charge shocked me too. But the Euros were well spent. The Romanesque interior was cool and hushed, almost fortress-like. The paintings within both churches reminded me of comic book panels and I imagined bible stories by picture instead of by reading.

My trip was too quick - only one night in Salamanca. I stayed at the Hotel San Polo (a good choice- thank you Diana). My friends were next door at the A.C. Palacio de San Esteban- a luxurious hotel located in a refurbished convent. Most of our time in Salamanca was spent people watching in the Plaza Mayor. After a grand dinner and a good night's sleep (finally) the three of us drove off to the North West coast leaving a young college student behind to learn Spanish.

It was a four hour drive from Salamanca to the small coastal town of Baiona (alternately spelled Bayona). The scenery surprised me. I expected dry desert vistas but what I saw was lush and green. The terrain was hilly and covered in pine forest. I had read that the Northwest was considered the Ireland of Spain. Now I understood why. The weather was also reminiscent of Ireland. My suitcase was full of shorts + sleeveless shirts. After all, we would be on the ocean in July. I word the same pants and sweater often. The drive was easy (of course I was just cargo in the back seat) and Baiona is a typical small fishing village. All roads lead to the docks and families parade in their Sunday best along the water, but the hotel! When in Spain do all in your power to search out Paradors. They are high end hotels in converted historical buildings, while driving the length of Baiona our eyes kept scanning a fortress on a promontory. When we realized that fortress was our hotel, we were excited.

Turns out the Parador de Baiona is a modern hotel built to resemble a fort. The historical accuracy is superb. It wasn't until the second night that we realized the building itself was new. The common rooms and bars are outfitted with care, the walls surrounding the hotel are the genuine article - the original Baiona city walls? The hike all the way around on the top of the turreted wall was beautiful - especially the stretch facing the sea. Baiona and the Parador were a favorite.

After two nights we moved toward Santiago de Compostela. Rooms actually in that historic city were impossible to book since we were traveling in a 'festival' year - a year in which the feast day of Saint James falls on a Sunday. My friends' tour guide suggested a quaint hotel in a town ten miles outside Santiago called Padron. The hotel - Casa Antica Do Monte - was rather alpine, built into a hill looking into a valley over the Rio Sar.

We spent the first night and the whole following day touring Santiago de Compostela. The city was abuzz with pilgrims - Santiago is the end point of a pilgrimage to St. James during which many people walk the length of Northern Spain beginning in France. St. James was executed in 44AD by Herod Agrippa in Jerusalem but his body miraculously arrived on the North West coast of Spain in a stone boat. The story was told to me in Spanish by a very excited priest as if recounting a headline story in today's paper. Whether or not I believed the story, there were hundreds of pilgrims arriving at the cathedral for the nightly Mass. Many seemed bedraggled enough to have walked the 454 miles from France. I was lucky to witness the special evening Mass during which eight strong men lower the huge incense burner (botafumeiro) and swing it - smoking - the width of the transcepts. Honestly, the cathedral interior was a disappointment. It looks as if it had been built with modern cement blocks - very plain. But the ornate altar more than makes up for the dull aisles. The gold twisting pillars lead the eye up to the huge dark skinned angels which seemed to have more than one pair of arms each. they looked more Hindu than Christian! The busy altar gave me much to look at during Mass.

Santiago's streets are a medieval labyrinth with many overhanging sheltering balconies. We ate well in seafood restaurants and tapas bars along the Rua Do Franco. There were many bookstores + arts & crafts shops. We did laundry along side pilgrims. The day flew.

My week in Spain was winding down. My friends drove off to continue their road trip along Northern Spain ending in Bilbao. I spent a peaceful day in the botanical garden in Padron. A taxi picked me up early the next day for my flight from Santiago to Madrid then home. My quick trip to Spain was terrific. I can't wait to return and spend more time in the historic Paradors